Farce – Tuition fees average out at over £8.5k

In the last 24 hours reports have surfaced revealing the future cost of the average tuition fee, as a result of the Government’s controversial increase.

The good news? Universities Minister, David Willets has told the Guardian that “the reality is that lots of students will not face fees anything close to £9,000 a year”. The bad news? The average is not £9k, but rather £8,679. Not a huge difference is it to be honest?

The grim reality is that 75% of the universities that have thus far made announcements will be charging the full whack of £9,000. This is despite the Government repeatedly and assuredly telling us that this would only happen in exceptional circumstances.

Some of the universities charging the astronomical prices range from Oxbridge (…fair enough, maybe) right the way through to the University of East London (…the lowest ranked university in the country, ha).

If there was some logic set to the plans then maybe, just maybe, this would be easier to take. But if the fees won’t be set in terms of academic standards or teaching quality, which they clearly aren’t, how are people expected to take any of this on board?

Government ministers are saying that this will “open up competition” amongst Higher Education institutes, but again, is this really a good thing?

Time for them to quit the rhetoric. Nothing is ever a good thing when it’s to the tune of £8,679.